1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to methods and systems for advertising computer network pages that are accessible through a computer network. More particularly, the invention provides a method and system for broadcasting an audible advertisement for a computer network page and providing a convenient means for a user to access the advertised page when the user connects to the computer network.
2. Related Information
Conventional wireless mobile stations, such as cellular telephones and personal digital assistants, use the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) for Internet communications. FIG. 1 shows a conventional configuration used by WAP enabled mobile stations 100 to access the Internet 102. A WAP gateway 104 receives requests from mobile station 100 for information provided on the Internet 102. WAP gateway 104 then gathers the appropriate Internet web page that is formatted in hypertext mark-up language (HTML) and converts the HTML format to wireless markup language (WML). Alternatively, some content providers make available WML content, which is retrieved by a WAP gateway and does not require any conversion. The “WAP page” is written in WML and transmitted to mobile station 100 using WAP.
The capabilities of the displays available on wireless mobile stations are limited and, as a result, WML has not been used to create the type of graphics and eye catching layouts associated with traditional Internet web pages. Display 106 includes a typical WAP front page menu for accessing pages on the Internet with a mobile station. WAP gateway 104 transmits the front page in response to a user's request to access the Internet. The front page menu consists of a linear textual list of available web pages. Because of the lack of graphics and other eye catching devices used by traditional Internet web pages, operators of pages designed for use by mobile station users have found it increasingly difficult to attract users to their pages and promote the services offered by their pages.
Therefore, there exists a need for a system and method that allows operators of computer network pages designed for wireless mobile stations to effectively promote their pages.